Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “strong-buy” rating and a $84.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.21% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on ITRI. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Itron in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Itron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Itron in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Itron from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.18.
Shares of Itron (NASDAQ ITRI) traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.30. 562,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,050. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2,641.06, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.00. Itron has a 12-month low of $57.80 and a 12-month high of $79.95.
In other news, COO Thomas Deitrich sold 11,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total value of $824,243.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,733,893.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Scopia Capital Management Lp bought 75,193 shares of Itron stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.34 per share, with a total value of $5,063,496.62. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 728,391 shares of company stock valued at $50,339,454 in the last 90 days. 2.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 393.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,671 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 9,305 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 9.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 64,878 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after buying an additional 5,692 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 26.5% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 18,489 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 3,871 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 48.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. now owns 19,962 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacad Investment Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 21.4% in the second quarter. Pacad Investment Ltd. now owns 1,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 93.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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Itron Company Profile
Itron, Inc (Itron) is a technology and service company. The Company provides solutions that measure, manage and analyze energy and water use. The Company operates through three segments: Electricity, Gas and Water. It provides a portfolio of products, solutions, software and services to electric, gas and water utility customers across the globe.
